Thanks for stopping by! We were a family of three, until we added one more (cat, that is), making us a family of four. In 2012, we added four more...one husband, two girls, and a dog. We have a full plate as a party of eight!

Adoption, blended families, pets, school, running...it's all here. Pull up a chair and read a while. After you do, please leave a little comment love! It makes me happy...and y'all know...if Momma is happy, then everyone is happy...at least at our house!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Hannah Meets "Uncle" Emmett

This is Emmett. He lives in Memphis. More specifically, he is my mother's cat. (Dad doesn't claim him.) We invaded his territory and brought Hannah with us on our recent trip. Needless to say, he wasn't happy to meet sweet Hannah Cat. Maybe it was her pink collar?

We arrived in Memphis on Sunday night and kept the cats separate. They each clearly knew the other was there though! On Monday, we attempted to introduce them to each other since they would be sharing a house for the next ten days. Let's just say it didn't go so well. The first time they were in the same room was planned. Mom was holding Emmett and Hannah was hiding behind a chair, but still in Emmett's view. Hannah was curious, just eyeballing Emmett but never making a sound. Emmett, on the other hand, was growling--that low, "I'm not happy to see you" growl--and grew more vocal by the minute. A long, loud hiss ended the meeting. Not bad, I suppose.

Now, I should point out that Hannah has two advantages over "Uncle" Emmett. First of all, she has claws. Second of all, she's on the thin side, weighing only nine pounds. However, she is a spoiled inside cat. Emmett, on the other hand, has no front claws and is somewhat overweight. No, really he's just plain fat (sorry Mom). Must be all those moles and chipmunks he catches. He lives the life of a hunter on the cove.

The next time the two felines met was not planned and took on the likeness of one of those Saturday morning cartoons we used to watch so many years ago. Not realizing Hannah was in the family room, Emmett was allowed in. He spied her immediately, under the table, behind the sofa, resting lazily on top of the heat vent. His tail bushed up and he crouched into his attack position before springing into action. Then, off he went. Hannah took off running when she saw him coming. I realized what was happening and took off down the hall after them, alternately yelling "Emmett!!! Emmett!!!" and "Moooommmmmm! Get Emmett!!!" Mom joined the chase, even if I did think it took her too long. Meanwhile, my brother is just sitting in the rocking chair calmly taking it all in. The chase ensued: Hannah, Emmett, me, Mom, Gloria (screaming "Run, Hannah!" and "Save my cat!") Down the hall, through the office, around the corner, into a bedroom. Hannah kept sliding on the wood floors, both cats were making noise, Mom was grabbing for Emmett's tail and missing.

In that bedroom, the bed is really low. Hannah has to do a belly crawl to get under it, and that's when she isn't running for her life. Somehow she managed to make it under that bed without Emmett attacking her. And, ha ha! Emmett is way too big to fit under the bed. Mom finally grabbed him and the chase was over. Emmett was snarling and hissing and carrying on. Hannah was trembling under the bed. Emmett was banished outside, which was probably more of a reward than a punishment for him until he realized that Hannah was still in his house.

The closest they got to each other for the rest of the visit was one on either side of the windows of the French doors. Lots of hissing from Hannah, yowling from Emmett, and swats of paws from both of them. Needless to say, Emmett was glad when we left and Hannah is enjoying being queen of the castle again.